Puyallup police cars damaged in chase

A suspect in a domestic-violence dispute led Puyallup police on a wild chase that damaged three squad cars and snarled traffic Saturday morning.

The incident happened after p0lice were called to the 2800 block of Sixth Street Southeast around 9:15 a.m. in response to a call from a woman who said her 18-year-old daughter was assaulting her and under the influence of narcotics. The daughter drove away before officers arrived.

A short time later, she was spotted in the 3100 block of Fifth Street Southeast. Officers said they tried to stop her but that she continued driving in a apparent attempt to evade them, leading to a series of collisions.

Her car first struck a vehicle in the 400 block of 35th Avenue Southeast, police said. The driver of that car was unharmed. She then struck a Puyallup police cruiser head-on in the parking lot of a YMCA in the 400 block of 43rd Avenue Southeast, causing the cruiser’s airbags to deploy. The woman fled that scene as well, then collided with another police cruiser in the 4700 block of South Meridian Avenue. She continued on, police said, eventually striking a large sign in the 300 block of 43rd Avenue Southeast, causing minor injuries and disabling the vehicle.

Police took her into custody and expected to book her on two counts of second-degree assault as well as fourth-degree domestic violence.

A police officer was treated for minor injuries at the scene. A third cruiser also was damaged in the chase.

Traffic along 43rd Avenue Southeast was closed in both directions and backups were reported along Meridian Avenue, a major thoroughfare, during the investigation.

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The Today File is a general news blog featuring real-time coverage of Seattle and the Northwest. It is reported by the news staff of The Seattle Times and includes stories from The Associated Press and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.